Letter: Fondly remembering the good old days of Easter

Sunday

Apr 20, 2014 at 12:01 AM

I was thinking about how Easter was years ago and how it is now.

To the Polish people, Easter was a big holiday. My parents owned a small Polish market. My father, John Ciesla, made Polish kielbasa in the back room and my mother, Stella, worked in the front of the store. Everything was made by hand. He would pick the best meat. There were no artificial seasonings. The garlic was peeled by hand. There were so many ounces per pound.

I was thinking about how Easter was years ago and how it is now.

To the Polish people, Easter was a big holiday. My parents owned a small Polish market. My father, John Ciesla, made Polish kielbasa in the back room and my mother, Stella, worked in the front of the store. Everything was made by hand. He would pick the best meat. There were no artificial seasonings. The garlic was peeled by hand. There were so many ounces per pound.

My dad built his own smokehouse. He would use special wood to burn to give it a special flavor. He made so many kielbasas that he couldn’t keep up with the orders. I can remember people getting angry because he ran out of kielbasa.

As a family, we were all working together. My son chopped the wood, my daughter kept the store clean and my mother made Polish golumpki. I still make them today, they are so delicious.

After all the work was done, we went to church to have our food blessed by the priest. There was butter, bread, ham, kielbasa, and specially colored eggs made by the children. They put names on them and handed them to each person to eat on Easter morning.

Then, of course, the children got all dressed up. There were new shoes, white gloves, pretty hats and beautiful dresses These are the memories I will never forget. It will not happen again. Kids wear sneakers, not too many dresses, mostly slacks.

I will be going to church with my son on Easter and maybe out to breakfast.